a sound she hadn't heard before

thirteen.

When Taylor and Ayla walk over to Dani's house, Ayla proudly knocks on the door. Dani's mom answers and quickly calls for her daughter. A few seconds later, Dani appears with a smile.

"Ayla!" she exclaims, bending down to give the little girl a hug. "How are you today?"

"I'm good," she says.

Dani turns her head to Taylor. "Is everything okay? I saw-"

"It's fine," Taylor cuts her off. She shakes her head 'no,' signaling that the pictures in the news aren't something that should be brought up around Ayla. "But I have something to ask you about, away from a certain pair of little ears, if that would be possible."

"Oh, of course," Dani says. "Ayla, would you want to play with my mommy for a minute while your mommy and I have a grown up talk?"

Ayla nods, so Dani calls into the house for her mom to come outside. She provides a much needed distraction for Ayla while Taylor and Dani sit down on the porch to talk.

"I was on the phone with my publicist this morning and we had to come up with a plan to ensure Ayla's safety and sense of normalcy is restored after those photos were published on the internet," Taylor begins.

Dani frowns. "How bad is it?"

"It's not looking that bad, as long as more pictures don't come out. The only thing is that Tree, my publicist, doesn't want Ayla going into New York City for the next month or so, at least. Since I was exposed as being there, the paparazzi are watching for me with eagle eyes now. If my picture gets out, it isn't a big deal, but if Ayla's gets out too much more, then it could cause a lot of problems... down to dropping her at school unprotected all day. It's one of those 'be incredibly alarmed but don't worry too much' situations. The risk is alarming but it will hopefully be an easy fix, if you know what I mean."

"Yeah, I get that," Dani nods. "If there's anything that I can do for you..."

"Well," Taylor says, biting her lip, "there is one thing. What does your class schedule look like? Between, like... 3:00 and 7:00 on weekdays?"

"I try to take all of my classes in the morning, so I'm actually free every afternoon during those times."

"Oh my god," Taylor says, "that's actually perfect. I have a job offer for you, if you'd be willing to consider... could you babysit Ayla? I know that I'm asking for so much of your time, but I can seriously pay whatever. Just name your price."

"Oh," Dani says, "you have no idea how perfect that would be for me. I just quit my waitressing job because of... well, lots of reasons, so I've been on the hunt for another job."

Taylor breathes a sigh of relief. She didn't know what she was going to do if Dani couldn't take the job. "I've always been so worried about leaving her with a babysitter for her whole life. It still isn't the ideal situation for me, but since it has to be, I figured I could trust you."

"You absolutely can," Dani promises.

"She just loves you so much... seriously, she asks like every day to come and visit you."

Dani laughs. "I love when she comes to visit me."

"I'm so sorry that this is so abrupt, but could you start on Monday? I can go and pick her up from school on my work break, but then I'll bring her home and meet up with you so that you can watch her until I get home in the evening, which is usually around 7:00. All you'd have to do is play with her and cook dinner. Seriously, you can park her in front of the TV for two hours after school for all that I care, but I just need somebody who can make sure that she's safe. She's a good kid, though. She'll be easy."